Run (2020)

Directed by: Aneesh Chaganty | 90 minutes | thriller | Actors: Sarah Paulson, Kiera Allen, Pat Healy, Sara Sohn, Erik Athavale, BJ Harrison, Sharon Bajer, Onalee Ames, Joanne Rodriguez, Ernie Foort, Bradley Sawatzky, Cory Wojcik, Tony Revolori, Carter Heintz, Conan Hodgkinson, Erica Jenkins

‘Run’ begins in a subdued, poignant tone. We meet Diane Sherman in a hospital where everything is bathed in a depressing, sickly artificial green light. She has just given birth to a small baby who was born prematurely. One card lists a troubling laundry list of illnesses, including arrhythmia, asthma and diabetes. Seventeen years later, we see Diane living an extremely tightly organized but apparently happy life with her daughter Chloe, who goes through a regular daily routine from her wheelchair.

Chloe is chronically ill, in need of help and raised in almost complete isolation (iPads or free internet access not included) from the outside world. Nevertheless, thanks to her technical insight and dexterity, she can hope for a study and career. Chloe awaits a letter of acceptance from the University of Washington and longs to explore the world beyond the familiar four walls. Control-freak mother Diane declares that she doesn’t mind if Chloe has to leave the house to go to college, but secretly that’s not quite true. Chloe really discovers that something is wrong with her mother’s story when she suddenly has to take an unknown pill, a drug that seems to have been prescribed for Diane. Slowly but surely, Chloe learns the haunting truth and her mother’s real motivations.

‘Run’ is a film that sometimes evokes strong memories of ‘Misery’. Both films revolve around a physically ailing person who is completely at the mercy of a caregiver with a disturbing psychological profile. ‘Run’ knows this and now and then gives a flashy wink to Stephen King’s master story, interspersed with elements and scenes that have a more Hitchcockian character.

Although ‘Run’ fails to match ‘Misery’ in quality, it is certainly not a bad film. The acting is good, which is important in a film that is mainly set in one location and revolves around the interaction between only two characters. Partly due to her regular presence in the horror series “American Horror Story”, Sarah Paulson has now gained plenty of experience with the horror genre and depictions of sweltering madness and introverted horror. She knows how to keep you on the edge of your seat with a subtle facial expression or well-timed, poignant statement. Certainly in ‘Run’ this is important because the narration is often a bit on the slow side. Kiera Allen also delivers a solid performance as the bright, extremely strong-willed and freedom-hungry daughter who tries to break free from the suffocating control compulsion of her neurotic mother. Interesting detail: Allen is also confined to a wheelchair in real life, a fact that makes her performance in ‘Run’ all the more believable. What also helps is that as a viewer you discover the disturbing truth through Chloe’s eyes. You never really know more or less than she does, so you and her solve the mystery behind her mother’s secretive behavior.

Towards the end, ‘Run’ occasionally goes a bit out of control. That’s mainly because Chloe’s transformation from good daughter into resourceful power woman is just a little too fast and smooth. Although the story is fairly straightforward, ‘Run’ still surprises us towards the end with a nice plot twist. The verdict? ‘Run’ is a creditable thriller. Not an absolute star that can match sources of inspiration such as ‘Misery’ or ‘Rear Window’, but a more than decent genre film that is interesting enough thematically and cinematographically to keep you fascinated for an hour and a half.